Upper Peninsula

For the first time in the tribe’s history, the Bay Mills Indian Community will have a tribal council made up entirely of women. 

“For me, I really see that as the progress of our tribal nation moving forward in healing from prior colonization, that we have suffered from. A lot of our traditional structures that have matriarchal forms of government, matriarchal leadership, that were involved and kept a balance within our community,” said newly-elected chairwoman Whitney Gravelle. 

Today on Stateside, Michigan state Representative Sara Cambensy (D-Marquette) discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Upper Peninsula. Also, a look at the difficulties recreational marijuana shop owners have had opening up in Traverse City. Plus, after a long year, a West Michigan tulip festival blooms again.

Today on Stateside, Michigan has reached over one million COVID-19 vaccinations. We explore what this milestone means, and the work ahead. Plus, the pandemic cancels another event. This time it’s sled dog race. And, as the virus ripped through the country, misinformation tore through a small U.P. town.

Vaccine distribution in Michigan has been geographically uneven. But there’s a reason for that, says a public health official in the Upper Peninsula. The hard part, she says, can be explaining that to residents anxious to get vaccinated.

Today on Stateside, we talk about the Michigan Board of State Canvassers meeting to certify this year’s general election results. Also, reimaginging the look and feel of dinosaurs with a National Geographic explorer.

Today on Stateside, COVID-19 cases continue to rise throughout the state. We check in with an Upper Peninsula health department about the outbreak’s impact in the area. Also, U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-13th) on Election Day results and the needs of her district. Plus, new music from a Flint singer-songwriter and musician.

Today on Stateside, the Michigan Republican Party issued a number of unsubstantiated claims against election proceedings in Detroit this week. But on a county by county level, Michigan’s elections appear to have run remarkably smoothly. We check in with a county clerk about how the tabulation process went. Also, a reporter discusses an Upper Peninsula hospital’s preparations for another COVID-19 surge. 

Today on Stateside, what military leadership makes of Michigan's active militia movement. Also, we look into a hotly-contested race Up North that could help decide which party has control of the Michigan House of Representatives.

Today on Stateside, former Congressman Bart Stupak joins us to talk about the political climate in rural Michigan, and what he observes as the Democratic party moves left. Plus, the Upper Peninsula is dealing with some scary spikes in COVID-19 infection rates. We'll talk to Michigan Tech University's president about how that influenced his decision to pause some face-to-face classes.

Fungi foragers rejoice: a new mushroom-hunting season is upon us. Many species of wild mushrooms grow throughout Michigan, and this is the perfect time of year to try to find them. But before you savor that tempting toadstool, make sure you’ve done your research. (No, really.)

The Upper Peninsula recorded its biggest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases this week. In response, Houghton County Schools will close face-to-face instruction starting Monday for a two-week period. More outbreaks have been noted in Iron, Menominee, and other counties in the western U.P. 

Comedian Joe Pera is not from Marquette. But the version of himself he plays in the television series Joe Pera Talks With You is recognizable to anyone familiar with the Upper Peninsula.

The show has become a runaway hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim nighttime block. Pera's oddball observations on subjects like beans and grocery stores are weirdly hilarious. But what really makes the series is that Pera is not just being funny. 

Today on Stateside, Samuel Stanley Jr. officially took his place as Michigan State University's 21st president earlier this month. We talk to Stanley about his goals and plans for his first year in office. Plus, we talk about the ways climate change is already impacting human health in Michigan. 

This week marks the fifth annual Leopold Festival, an event that takes place on the Les Cheneaux Islands in honor of Aldo Leopold, one of the founders of wildlife ecology and a dedicated conservationist.

Most wind energy projects in Michigan are on farmland in the southern part of the state. They are often controversial even there, but one company wants to put a wind farm in an Upper Peninsula forest. Many community members don’t feel that’s the right place either.

Today on Stateside, why President Trump's tweets are unlikely to change Ford's decision to move small car production abroad. Plus, why rocks in the U.P. are giving off an alien glow. (No, it does not involve extraterrestrials.)

Listen above for the full show, or find individual segments below. 

Ford won’t be moving production of Focus hatchback to the U.S. Here’s why.